Electric-light cluster



March 24, 1931. v. R. DESPARD ET AL 1,797,607

ELECTRIC LIGHT CLUSTER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 10 1927 imam? W007 March 24, 1931, I v. R. DESPARD ET AL 1,797,607

ELECTRIC LIGHT CLUSTER Filed June ,10, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 M g, v

/%225 C1 Opp 'March 24, 1931. v. R. DESPARD ET AL 7 5 ELECTRIC LIGHT CLUSTER Filed June l 0, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

Patented Mar. 24,1931

lustre STATES PATENT OFFICE ViC'IOR R. DESPARD AND HANS C. R. POP-1?, OF. VALIPARAISO, INDIANA, ASSIGNOES T0 IVECGILL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA ELECTRIC-LIGHT oLus'rnn Application filed June 10,

Gur invention relates to electric light clusters wherein a plurality of lamp sockets are supported from a central hollow body. In such clusters it has heretofore been the practice to secure the lamp sockets to the body by means of hollow members through which the wires for the sockets extend. To

connect these clusters to a source of current it is necessary to extend the wires through the hollow stem upon which the body is mounted and then divide the conductors and thread oneportion of each through thehollow members and connect the portions to the lamp sockets. To properly connect the wires to the sockets requires considerable skill and time. Thenif the sockets are adjustable relative to the body the adjustment or" the sockets from one position to another must of course twist the wires and often causes them to become loosened.

It is a purpose of this invention to provide a cluster in which these difliculties of wiringare eliminated. This is accomplished by the utilization of a socket to body connection 7 with means secured in the body cooperating withthe sockets and having only two points or" connection for the lead in wires to connect the sockets to the source of current supply. It is also a purpose of this invention to so tions between the lamp sockets carried thereby and the source ofcurrent that the connections are held in proper position to engage the terminals of the lamp sockets at all tim s Other objects and advantages will appear as the description proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings-wherein Ithepreferred form of the invention is shown.

It is obvious however, that various'changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invent on and'we wish it to be understood that we intend to'avail ourselves or" all such modi 1927. Serial No. 197,944.

ficationsas fall within the scope of the claims;

In the drawings withpart of the hollow supporting body broken away to show the switch operating mechanism; V

Fig. 2 1s asectional view taken vertically through the structure along the line 22 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3' is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3'3 of Fig. 2; 7 r

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View taken on r the line H of Fig. 1;

Fig- 5 is a vertical section substantially on the line55 of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a detailed view of the switch mechanism showing the arrangement ofthe stationary and movable contacts; V Fig-7 isa section on the line 77 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a detailed perspective view of one'of the terminals for the lamp sockets;

Figr9'is a perspective View showing the connector elements detached from the supporting insulating block which carries them; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the supporting insulating block and F 1g, 11 is a perspective view of thescrewsocket used to receive the lamp, with one of the terminals therefor. i

Referring now in detail tothe drawings the improvedrlamp cluster consists primarily of a supporting stem 15 throughwhich the conductors from the source of current are extended into the hollow portion 16 mounted thereon,' the hollow. body portion 16 and a pair of lamp sockets 17 ing a. shade over the cluster.

The hollow support 15 as shown more clearly in Fig. 2 consists of the outer tubular member 20 and the inner conduit 21 through which the conductors 22 extend. The members 20and 21 may be connected together in any suitable mannerso thatthe member 21 projects upwardly slightly above {the outer sleeve 20 and is'screw threaded at its upper end as shown at 23. The hollow body 16 J whichis substantially spherical and consists of a pair of semi-spherical parts 24 and 25 and 18 together with the means shown at 19 in Fig. l for support angles to the sockets and having flanges 44-- the supporting member 31 which,=as shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 4, is screw threaded to engage the screw threads 23 on the conduit 21. Thus, by screwing the supporting member 31 down upon the conduit'21, the lower half 24.

of the hollow supporting body will be locked into position thereon and will be held against rotation relative to the member 31 by means of the projections 26 and 27 and the slots 28 and 29. The supporting member 31 is provided at its upper end with horizontal portion. 32, screw threaded .to [receive the screw threaded member'38 and ti e upperhalf of the hollow body port-ion is provided with an inward depression as shown at 34 and this depression is provided with an opening through which the member 33 extends.

In order to clamp the upper half 25, which is outwardly flanged as shown in Fig. 4 to fit over the lower half 24, down upon the lower; half 24, I provide a screw threaded member 35 fitting into the depression .34

whereby it may be screwed down upon the member 33 to secure the hollow portion 25 in position. The member 35 is also provided with a shoulder at 36 to receive the sleeve 37 andresting upon this sleeve 37' is a-fiat disc like. member 38 which isalso screwthreaded upon the member 33 to provide a fiat support toreceive a lamp shade which maybe held in position by the finishing knob 39.

The hollow body portion 16 is provided g with a pair of openings at opposite sides thereof to receive the lamp sockets 17 and-18 wh ch, as shown, have the housmgs 40 and 41 of insulating material provided with the,

projections 42 and 43 extending at right and 45 rounded to fit the spherical innerv surface of the member 16 around the open-.

ings provided therein. This provides a very simple and substantial means for confianges'44 and 45 also necting the sockets to the hollowbody since it eliminates all extra eyelet or tube partswhich have heretofore been used in connectp t connecting means consists. of an lnsulating ing-the lamp sockets to the 'hollow body. The extensions 42 and 43 together withv their serve to swivelly connect the lamp sockets to the hollow body Portion.

Eac

lamp socket consistsof the screw threaded hollow member 48 which is adapted to receive the screw threaded'end of the lamp bulb and the connecting member 49 which serves as a contact for the end of the lamp bulb, this member 49 being in the form of a rivet and being insulated from the member 48 by means of the disc 50 which engages the end portion 51 of the screw threaded member 48 and holds it in placewithin the insulating body when the rivet 49 is extended therethrough and upset as at 52 in the depression 53 provided in the lamp socket. The rivet 49 also clamps the. terminal. 55 to the insulating body and is directly connected thereto so as to make an electric connection with the terminal 55. This terminal asshown extends laterally through the slot 56 provided in the member 48 and is prevented from engaging with the member 48 by the downwardly extending ribs 57 and 58Iprovided on the ins.

sulating body on opposite sides of the thin portion 59 otthe terminal 55. This terminal then extends through an opening provided. in the extension 42 and is provided with a.

downturned end at 60 whichissubstantially flush with the innerface of the extension and substantially centrally located with respect to the opening in the hollow body receiving the extension 42. terminal for the lamp socket which terminates within the hollow bodyportion for a purpose which will'presently appear.

To provide for theother terminal of the lamp socket, a portion 61 is struck out of'the. screw threaded member at its side and a rivet.

ing' the centrally located terminal 60. This description has been made particularly with This provides a central roe reterenceto' the left hand socket shown in Fig/2 and it-isobvious that the righthand socket is simply a duplicate thereof and it is thought no further'description need, be made otit. The two lamp socketsare directly opposite each other and as shown in Fig. 2 alignsubstantially with the projections 26 and 27 which look the hollow body portion against rotation relative to the support 31.

This support carries means for connecting the terminals of the lamp sockets to the'conductors for supplying current in such a man-.

nor that regardless otthe positionthe sockets are moved to, the terminals are always connected so that the lamps may be lighted; This connecting block 70 which is secured by means ofthe screw 71 to the supporting member 31 and is provided at its top as shown in Figs. 2 and 5 with a pair of terminals 7 2and 73'to which the conductors from the source ofourrent are connected. The terminal 72 connect to themember 74 which, as shown in Figs.

llfi

9 nd 1 is-adapted to'fit in the slot and has a flat face 76 for a purpose which will presently appear. a I

Extending from the-terminal73 is a connecting bar 77 which fits in the slot-17 8 provided in the insulating block 70 and extends downwardly and rearwardly aslat 79 where it is provided with the long narrow portion '80'fitting in a deep slot at 81 within the block 70 andis then provided at its lower end with the outwardly projecting fiat portion. 82 against which the spring 83 bears- This spring 83 engages at its other end with a sliding contact 84 which slides in the slot 85 provided in the block 7 O 'and is adapted to contact with the annular portion 66 of contact 63 on the lamp socket 17. Directly opposite the contact member 84 is a similar contact member 86 sliding in the slot 87 in the block :70 and pressed toward outward position and into engagement with the annular terminal on the socket 18 by means of the spring 88. The springs 83 and 88 it will be noted are insulated from each other by the partition wall '89 formed in the block 70.

F means of the spring 96 lying in the slot pro.-

vided in the connecting block between the portions 92 and 93, this slot being of less depth than the slot 81 so that the spring is held out of contact with the portion 80 of the bar 7 7,

the spring member 96 in this case serving to yieldingly press the contacts and 91 into engagement with their respective terminals on the sockets 17 and 18. The contact 91 is also provided with an upwardly projecting poro ition 98 for a purpose which will presently ap-V pear.

The connecting block 70 also supports a switch indicated generally by the, numeral 100 by means of a pair of screws 101 and 102 "which extend from the connecting block through slots provided in the members 90 and 91 and through the insulating plate 103 fitting over the connecting block and thence through the switch to the outer face 104 thereof. This switch is provided with four contact members 105 and 106, 107, and 108 which contact respectively with the portion 7 1 con-e nected to the terminal 7 2, projection 98 on the contact 91, contact 86 and contact 8 1 as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. These contactmembers as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 extend from the terminals 109, 110, 111, and 112 of the stationary contact for the switch member and extend through the insulating body of the switch into engagement. with the respective members on the contact block..

The details of this switch are similar to that shown inthe application of Victor Despard, Serial No. 62833,1now Patent'llo. 1,669,372 filed October 16, 1925 on multiple series switch and serves to connect the lamp sockets 17 and 18 with the terminals 72 and 73 through the terminals provided on the lamp sockets and the'block 7 0 either in series or. parallel or to wholly. disconnect the lamp sockets from the source of current. The structural IClGlZZLllS of this switch since they form no part of the:

presentinvention will therefore not be further described except in so far as is-necessaryto-brlng out the cooperation between the switch structure and the lamp cluster.

'The operating stem of the switch as shown clearly in Figs. .1 and 3 c onnects'to a ratchet wheel 121 by means of the prongs 122 and 123 and is operated by means of the lever 124land the spring 125 so as to cause a step by step rotation of the wheel 121 and thestem 120 to establish variousconnections between a the terminals 7 2 and'7 3 in the lamp sockets.

A pull chain 125 isconnected to the lever 124 and extends outwardly through; an opening 126. in the hollow body l6rforsoperating the,

switch.

From theabovedescription it'is th ought that the'construction and operation of this.

devicewill be clear to those skilled'in this art and the advantages will be [clearly apparent.

I The provision ofthe connecting block mounted on the supporting member 31,together with the terminalslon the lamp sockets extending into the hollow body-1.6 and engaging with the terminalseon the connecting blocks 70 eliminates the undesirablefeatures in wir- 4 mg which have heretofore been present 1n 2 lamp clusters sincethe conductors extending up through the support need only to beconnectedto the terminals-72 and 73before the cap portion 25 is placed on theflower half 24; of the hollow body to complete the wiring of the device. The lamp sockets' provided are compactand simple in structure and when setin position on the hollow body theyiare permanently connected by means of thetermi nals fixed thereon to the spring pressed con- 1 tacts on the connecting block and remain so connected even though they arerotated with respect to the body portion. The spring pressed contacts inaddition serve to press the flanges 14 and 45 outwardly against the hollow body andyiel-dingly hold the lamp sockets in any position to which they are ad- VHaving thus described our invention what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat- 1 ent of the UnitedStates is 1. An electric lamp cluster comprising a hollow body, a plurality of lampsockets exf tending substantially tangentially of said, body and, having portions of insulating material at' one side thereof extending-into :saidi body for supporting said sockets, andLtermis nals for said soclretsiextending into .said body through said portions. 7 i

2. An electric lam cluster comprising a. hollowbo'dy, a plura ity of lamp sockets ex.- tending substantially tangentially of said body and, having portions of insulating material at one side thereof extending into said body for supporting said sockets,vand terminals for said sockets extending toward said body through said portions, said portionsbeing rockably connected to saidlbody.

3. An electric lamp cluster comprising a, hollow body, a plurality of lamp sockets having portions ofzinsulating material proj ecting' from oneside thereof extending into said; body for supporting said sockets, andterminals rigidly secured tosaid sockets and extending toward saidibody through said portions.

4:. An electric. lamp clusterv comprising :a. hollow body, a pluralityroflamp sockets having portions'proj ecting'at right anglestovthe;

memor gaging said terminals, said: interengagingmeans retaining said contacts an'diterminalsz in alignment. 1

8; A; lamp i cluster comprising two: lamp sockets, attaching. meansior-said sockets se-. cured to and projecting laterallyirom the sides thereof, and az'support .for. said sockets. made in two parts saidtpants-having comple-. mentary' means :for: engaging said. attaching: means; and, holding said? socketsain position; upon said support. 7 a

In: Witness whereof; .we hereunto subscribe. our, names this 16th day. ofgMay; A; D .1927;

VICTOR. R, DESPAR-D; HANS..- GL R} ROPE.

axes of said sockets swivelly connected to said body, terminals secured to saidsockets and extending-into-said body, a support with. 1 insaid body, conta'ctscarried by said support and engaging said terminals, and means .ior' connecting said contacts to a. source of ourrent'supply.

'5. An electric lamp cluster comprising a. hollow body, a plurality of: lamp: sockets having portions of insulating material ex r tending toirightf anglesto' the axesof said sockets and into said body ton-supporting said sockets, terminals-for said sockets ex tending into saidbody through said portions, asupport within said body, contacts on said support engaging said terminals-and means for connectingsaid contaotsto a 'sourcelof current supply.

6. An electric lamp cluster including a conduo-tor containing support, a hollowbody, a 1 supporting member; within said body having means thereon engaging said support tosecure the hollow body thereon, and interlooking means on said-body-and member prevent ingrotation of saidmember relativeto said body, lamp sockets projecting from said body, contacts carriedby saidmember and electrically and slidably connected to said sockets andmeans on said member for connecting saidcontacts to conductors extending from said support into saidlbody. V

7. An electric lamp cluster including a conductor containing support, a hollow'bod'y, a supporting member within said body having .means thereon engaging said supporttoPsecure the hollow body thereon, and interengag ing means on said body and member prevent mg rotation of said memberrelat ve tosaid body, lamp sockets supported on said bo 7 and havingterminals extending into said body, and contactscarriedby-sald'member en 

